Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operation unit and an image forming apparatus and more specifically to the operation unit and the image forming apparatus used by a near field communication system (NFC) or a contactless communication system such as a contactless IC card.
Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, in a field of an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction printer having a plurality of those functions, various methods for inputting data to a body of the image forming apparatus body (referred to as an ‘apparatus body’ hereinafter) are being developed. One of such methods being developed is an image forming apparatus adopting a near field communication system (NFC) that permits to execute data communication between the apparatus body and a mobile terminal or a contactless IC card (authentication card) brought close to the apparatus body as disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0253949 A1 for example.
This image forming apparatus includes a panel portion, i.e., a liquid crystal display touch panel provided at an upper part of an apparatus body and an NFC substrate including an antenna portion provided on a left side of the panel portion. This image forming apparatus permits the user to execute various data communication with the apparatus body by the near field communication by bringing the mobile terminal or the authentication card close to the NFC substrate.
However, because the NFC substrate is disposed on the left side of the panel portion in the image forming apparatus disclosed in US Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0253949 A1, there is a case where the user unintentionally hides the panel portion by his/her hand in bringing the mobile terminal or the authentication card close to the NFC substrate, thus impairing visibility and operability of the panel portion. Still further, because the NFC substrate is disposed on the left side of the panel portion, there is a case where the user's hand, the mobile terminal, or the authentication card touches the panel portion, thus causing an erroneous operation of the apparatus body, when the user brings the mobile terminal or the authentication card close to the NFC substrate. That is, the operability is worsened. Although it is conceivable to assure an enough area on the left side of the panel portion so that the user's hand, the mobile terminal, or the authentication card does not touch the panel portion even when the user brings the mobile terminal or the authentication card close to the NFC substrate, this case will inevitably increases a size of the apparatus body.